Car Hits & Kills 8-Year-Old Boy Riding A Scooter

NEW GERMANY, Minn. (WCCO) — An 8-year-old boy riding a scooter in New Germany, Minn., on Friday night died after a car hit him, authorities say.

The Carver County Sheriff Department responded to call of a child struck by a vehicle at 8:24 p.m. in the area of State Avenue and Monroe Street in the town located an hour west of Minneapolis.

Investigators say 8-year-old Lorenzo Cotto was riding a scooter in the street in front of his relative’s house during a birthday party when he was hit.

Angel Evans’ 6-year-old son, Anton, was playing outside with Cotto at the party. She is now trying to explain to both of her kids what happened.

“They’re not doing good,” Evans said. “They had a great time yesterday playing, and it’s scary.”

Carrie Sterner lives a couple of houses down and was outside with her husband around that time. She called 911 after the accident.

“He was out playing in the road. Couple times people had told him to get off of the road. He was chasing the cars down. It’s tragic,” Sterner said. “We could barely see him from our house it was so dark out.”

The driver of the vehicle was a 62-year-old man from Waverly, Minn. He told police he didn’t see Cotto, who was from Brooklyn Park. The speed limit on State Avenue or Highway 33 is 30 mph.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. It’s a sad situation. And the driver, I really do feel for him. It’s a hard thing, and he’s got to live with that the rest of his life,” Sterner said.